Viewing objects with high resolution is essential to numerous industries, scientific research, and the clinical practice of medicine. The ability to obtain a magnified image with three-dimensional quality that has excellent resolution and minimal distortion has been sought by many individuals. For example, obtaining a clear image of the interior of certain objects, such as pistons and cylinders within engines such as diesel engines, is difficult, often necessitating the laborious dismantling of many components of the engine. Mechanics also require remote access to inspect components of jet engines. Plumbers face similar difficulties trying to determine the cause or location of a blockage in a pipe, for example a sewer pipe leading from a house to a municipal sewer main. Residents face similar problems in determining the cause of blocked drains and toilets. Robots for use in undersea, high altitude, and space exploration, and in recovery operations also require excellent optical capabilities and an accompanying illumination source.
Analysis of objects to provide quality control assessment of manufacturing accuracy and precision is an expensive and time consuming procedure. It is difficult to rapidly and accurately evaluate the surface qualities of small objects, especially those with interior surfaces. For example, the manufacture of acceptable stents for use as medical implants in vessels and ducts requires a detailed inspection to ensure that burrs, notches, scratches, sharp edges, and jagged edges are not present. Such defects could damage biological tissue such as endothelial cells and the adjacent layers of the vessel wall causing adverse biological events including rupture of the vessel wall and bleeding.
Human visual examination of these stents under magnification is time consuming and expensive. This human inspection step greatly limits manufacturing output and increases the net cost of each stent. What is needed is an improved method for high resolution examination of objects such as stents, that does not rely on human visual examination of each stent. This method should be capable of examining the exterior and interior surfaces of objects with high resolution. What is needed is a system that permits rapid examination of objects and also facilitates automated storage of the collected data for subsequent analysis.
Analysis of large and small objects at high resolution is time consuming and prone to human error. The surfaces of some objects must be examined with microscopes, including scanning electron microscopes. Preparation of samples for scanning electron microscopy is expensive and time consuming, and requires the services of a dedicated technician who may coat the surfaces of objects with gold or another metal. Scanning electron microscopy is also limited by the number of samples that may be processed and then examined in one sitting at the microscope. Human visual analysis of integrated circuits and circuit boards is another costly and time intensive process. Accordingly, what is needed is a system that permits rapid, automated, high resolution viewing of objects, and optionally storage of the data to facilitate quality control assessment of the objects and identification of acceptable objects and also defective objects. What is also needed is a system that permits automated removal of defective objects.
In endoscopic procedures, one limiting factor is the inability of the examiner to evaluate relative sizes, volumes and distances in the body cavities and in various organs. This problem forces the repetitive insertion and withdrawal of the devices, often without success. What is needed is a high resolution, three-dimensional image of the interior of the body which instantaneously displays relative sizes, depths, and appearances of the organs and tissues examined. Examination of the interior of vessels, ducts, the digestive, reproductive and urinary tracts, the respiratory tree, the larynx, cerebral ventricles, sinuses, joints, synovial joints, bursae, organs, and the body cavities, is limited by the size and sometimes by the flexibility of the fiber optic bundle and attached light source. What is needed is a high resolution, flexible, small diameter imaging bundle that permits entry and examination of small caliber vessels, ducts, and spaces. Data from these examinations should be capable of storage in a computer for subsequent manipulation, evaluation and display.
What is also needed is a system that can detect the heat of an object. For example, inflammation may be present in an organ or tissue by viewing the tissue with infrared radiation while being invisible when viewing the tissue with visible radiation. In another example, circuits may function poorly if excessive heat is generated from individual components such as resistors. What is needed is the capability for three-dimensional, high resolution viewing of these objects with optical fibers that transmit infrared radiation.
What is also needed is an imaging bundle that permits the delivery of ultraviolet radiation as excitation wavelengths and the viewing of emission radiation in the ultraviolet and visible range. For example, what is needed is a fiber bundle that can be used in endoscopic procedures which enables the delivery of excitation wavelengths in the ultraviolet range to excite fluorophores which then emit radiation in the ultraviolet and visible range. Such a system would facilitate the identification and localization of fluorochrome-labeled substances within the body.